Gilded Flames
by WolfxSoul
Summary: An level headed hunter joins in the hunt to capture the Avatar, although her true intentions are hidden behind the mask she wears. Hindered by narcoleptic tendencies, this evokes pity from those around her and creates a silent bond between her and the banished prince. Do they have more in common than Kai lets on? Or is she the strangest person he has, and will ever meet. ZukoxOc?


"Papa!"

A tiny girl yelled as loud as she could.

"Papa!" She cupped her little hands around her mouth, hoping that it made her voice louder.

"Papa!" She yelled into the mountains. Even as her childish voice echoed, it felt so lonely. The little girl's choppy, tangerine hair, flipped in the wind. The sun began to settle on the horizon, filtering the light in the narrow clearing of the mountains, where the girl waited. She huffed down into a huddle, pulling her legs close to herself. As her eyelids began to droop, she looked up to the horizon. What looked back was a golden eye, the face of…

"Papa!"

"Ah!" A gasp echoed in the night, as the creator of the noise sat up. A chatter of squeaks were heard as a small creature popped it's head out of the bag laying beside the person.

"I'm alright Xue. Just a dream…" A rough voice said. The figure got up and stretched. Looking at the moon showed the figure to be a young woman. She massaged her exposed eye and settled back down on the ground. The little creature climbed up the girl's leg and sat upon her shoulder.

"It's nothing Xue, I just… kinda miss home. But we need rest; we have a job in the morning." Xue squeaked a few more times, before the girl laid down and Xue made bed on her chest.

 _Just a dream Kai_. She thought.

"You must be Asa." The girl approached an older man who seemed nervous.

"You… you're the Crimson Blade?!" The man's surprise was not new to the masked girl, as she simply stared at him. It was an unnerving stare that caused him to fidget in his place. A little red head poked out from the scarf around the Kai's neck and the slim fox ferret swirled around her master's head to sit ontop of it.

"Well, hurry up with the job. Xue is hungry," Kai said, placing a hand on the hilt of her blade. The man quickly handed over a poster with a picture of a woman on it.

"I want you to track down my wife. She was kidnapped." He said, wringing his hands together

"Really? That's all?" Kai sighed, but took the poster. She tucked it away into her chest plate, then took a running start to launch herself onto the nearest building's roof.

What she found at the end trail of whispers and gossip was a woman who was happily living with another man and family. Turned out, she hated the man who she was forced to marry.

"And she refuses to come back," Kai explained. The man was furious and turned to leave. Kai glared at him and cracked her fingers. She sighed before snapping her fingers to hit pressure points in the back of his legs, causing him to fall.

"I don't work for free," she scowled. She took her payment and walked away with the fox ferret shaking her rump at the man.

Kai walked through town, ignoring the glances and stares she received. She was used to it. Nobody had orange hair. Sure, when fall and winter came around, it took on a dark tint, almost becoming an auburn. A few people had that kind of hair, usually only in the Earth Kingdom. Even if that is so, she didn't really make an effort to not stand out. Although many inhabitants of the Earth Kingdom wore earthy shades, the dark green of Kai's clothing seemed a bit off (since it contrasted greatly with her hair). Wearing a leather chest piece, with metal arm guards and shin guards made very different from girls her age. And nearly none of them would ever carry around a katana.

But this was Kai.

She took a deep breath, having sat herself down for a session of meditation. She found that when she frequently meditated, she didn't have nearly as many moments were she lost muscle control. It kept her emotions in check and helped her keep a calm countenance.

Kai sighed, looking out at the harbor of the port town.

"I guess we can stay one more night. Then I want to move on. What do you think Xue?" Kai asked. From her spot beside's Kai, Xue looked up from her position. A few squeaks and a gurgle told Kai that it was okay.

"Alright," Kai said, standing up. She began to stretch out various parts of her body, before taking a fighting stance. She trained for a few hours until night came and her and Xue went to find some place to rest.

This was Kai and Xue's normal life. A life that they had become complacent with. Truly, all it would take is one faithful encounter, to make it fall apart.

* * *

I know it seems a bit boring now, but I hope I can step it up. It is going to follow the Main story line then when it ends, it goes off into a different story arc. I haven't read the comics or whatever, so it technically would take place before them.

I'm... Kinda thinking making it a ZukoxOC... would that be okay? I mean, I would still have his relationship with Mai. Kai is a whole different person, yet strangely similar at the same time. It is ambiguous who Zuko has children with though.

Also, even though they pronounce Mai as May, Kai is Ka-i. It's the Japanese pronunciation. I think if they were going to name her that, they should have spelled it like Mei. That would have avoided confusion. Cause Mai is very different than Mei... Just my little rant.

Anyways, please comment, tell me what you think. I have very little time before my winter break of college is done and I have to get my butt back for my final semester. So yeah.

Peace

Wolf


End file.
